Paris gay pride festival has political overtones

PARIS, June 29 (UPI) -- Parisians took to the streets Saturday for the city's annual gay pride festival a month to the day after the first French gay couple was legally married.

The annual celebration of gay culture in the French capital took on a more political tone, given last month's vote by President Francois Hollande's ruling Socialist party to legalize same-sex marriage in the country.

Radio France Internationale said members of Hollande's government marched in the gay pride parade carrying a banner "LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender], let's fight for equality!"

Other signs encouraged gays to fight for legalized assisted procreation procedures that had been part of the same-sex marriage legislation but were scrapped before the final vote.

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